Wins both at home and abroad

Posted
Thursday, November 29, 2012 2:43 pm

Residents and businesses in Nassau County suffered tremendous losses to their homes and property in Hurricane Sandy. Entire communities were ravaged, and many small businesses and homeowners might never fully recover.

On Nov. 19, County Executive Ed Mangano announced that he was establishing the Nassau Hurricane Recovery Fund Committee. The committee was established by executive order, and will help promote the health and welfare of our residents and accept and distribute monetary contributions.

I commend Mangano for taking the initiative and establishing this important fund. Personally, I am deeply proud of the post-Sandy response of my local community and all Long Islanders, and want to make sure that those who have suffered continue to be taken care of.

This announcement came on the heels of Mangano’s unveiling plans to move forward with a master team that will coordinate the development of the 77-acre Hub site and a strategic reuse plan for the Coliseum in the first half of 2013. This plan is a positive step in the right direction for the county, and I feel confident that it will create jobs, economic growth and more revenue.

I’m sure we could all use another boost. Why not see a concert at the Coliseum this winter?

Abroad, after eight days of seemingly endless warfare, a cease-fire was declared between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza border. I give kudos to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton for spearheading a high-level international diplomatic effort to end the violence.

The threat of violence in the region was always looming, as Palestinian Muslims continue to question Israel’s ownership of the debated territory. On Nov. 10, the situation turned violent when the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas launched a hail of rockets into southern Israel. Israel reacted swiftly, launching a severe counter-attack, taking out several of Hamas’s launch sites and leaders, including Ahmed al-Jabari, the man responsible for directing the Hamas rocket programs and launchings.

Sid Tanenbaum, who lived in Woodmere and owned a metal-stamping shop in Far Rockaway, where he was known more for his charitable ways than his two-handed set shot, has been honored for the past 30 years with a basketball tournament that raises scholarship money for students in the Five Towns.